Glossary

WP (Work Package)

2 min Updated 27.07.2026
In short

A work package is a self-contained part of the project work plan with its own tasks, lead partner, budget and deliverables. Work packages are how a proposal is structured and how effort is shared between participants, and in lump sum grants they are also the unit on which payments are calculated.

Level
Above tasks, below the project
In lump sum
The unit of payment
Partial completion
Not paid
Recommended
A separate management WP

A work package is a substantial subdivision of the work plan, not a single task. Tasks sit inside it; the package is the level above.

Each is described separately in the proposal: objectives, tasks, which partner leads, person-months per participant, and the deliverables and milestones it produces.

How many

As many as the scale and complexity justify. The guidance frames it as: each package should be a substantial part of the work plan, and their number proportionate to the project.

A separate project management package is explicitly advised – expected practice, not padding.

Why splitting hurts

In lump sum grants a package is also the unit of payment, and the temptation to slice it for more frequent instalments is strong. The guidance warns against exactly this and lists what a package is not: a single activity, a single task, a "percentage of progress" such as "50% of tests", or a stretch of calendar such as "year one activities".

A second reason: in lump sum grants a package is paid only when fully complete, and a partially finished one is not paid at all until the end of the project.

Link to the project logic

Work packages are the operational layer of what a logframe calls activities and outputs. A package leading to no result, or a result belonging to no package, is a gap an evaluator will see.

Frequently asked questions

How many work packages should there be?

In proportion to the scale of the project, and each one has to be a substantial part of the work plan. Splitting packages up in order to get more frequent payments under lump sum funding is explicitly discouraged: a task, a percentage of progress or “the first year” is not a work package.

Do we need a project management work package?

Formally it is not mandatory, but the guidance advises setting one up and evaluators expect to see it. Without it, management effort is spread across the other packages and looks unplanned.

Official materials

Read on GetGrant

Sources

  1. Application form HE RIA/IA V5.1 ec.europa.eu · checked 27.07.2026

Data current as of 27.07.2026. Verify the terms with the donor’s official portal before applying.

Updated 27.07.2026 · Reviewed by: GetGrant editorial team

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